Welcome to 2009! I apologize for not writing last week but with the drastic change in weather I found no time to sit and write. The last week we have had nothing warmer than 0 degrees. One morning, it was -19 at 8:00AM and we were already working. You can imagine with such cold weather and 25 centimetres snow that it is a lot more work looking after 30 + horses. But finally today we have 2 degrees so perhaps working will become a little easier. The hardest thing to do when it is so cold is ride. Riding boots do not keep your feet warm at all and neither do the gloves.

This year promises to be a big one for Focus and I. I am now in the home stretch of my stay in Germany. The time here seems to go by faster and faster with everyday. It seems like yesterday that I was sitting on an airplane flying here. Now I am looking forward to returning home in a few months time.

On New Year’s Eve, like the other workers, I had a very quite celebration of 2009. I was at a boarder’s house for a fondue dinner and a glass of sekt. At midnight we launched a few fireworks into the sky and by 2:00 AM I was at home in my bed. The next day I simply relaxed and looked after my horse. The days following new years were very quiet as everybody slowly came to the realization that yet another year has gone by. And with this week, we are slowly starting to prepare for show season. The first shows are in a few weeks time. Perhaps Focus will go to a few competitions before she comes home.

On Saturday night all we workers went out for a night in the Jever Ski Halle. It started with only the four of us but slowly a few boarders in our age said they would come to and before we knew it there were a large number of us together. It was a lot of fun. The Ski Hall is a little bit like a disco but also has music from Karnival. It’s really a great time for all. The best part is the next day is only a half day because it was Sunday; therefore we had the afternoon to catch up on much needed sleep.

Today I was in a tack store for the first time in MONTHS! That is a very dangerous thing to do before you have paid your rent. All the Pikeur jackets, new Scapa saddle pads, brown Konig boots, and the list goes on. Good thing it was only a short visit, only enough time to see everything and dream about buying it, not actually enough time TO buy it.

As for Focus she is in great shape. Her changes are improving more and more with everyday. She has developed a better trot with more cadence and suspension. With Focus the hard thing is not to ride the exercise itself, but to keep the quality of the gait. She is also learning to really sit in the canter pirouettes. She shows a real talent for them. It will be exciting to see in a few months if we can ride a strong Young Riders. The Young Rider test is not easy; however, with a coming seven year old it is extra difficult. Most often you see Young riders competing older Grand Prix schoolmasters or horses that have been competing at Prix St Georges for a longer time. But I am up for a good challenge!

In the next year there are many firsts for focus and me (Together that is). There will be our first freestyle, first Prix St. Georges, first time on Canadian soil in almost two years and a returning flight to Canada. In the next days the vet will be coming for the quarantine inspection, not to start the quarantine, but to make sure the facility is ok for such. I am very excited to return home and see all the changes that have taken place over the last year and a half. I do not hear so such from home, so it will be nice to see something.

Well, I should be going, it’s getting late and tomorrow will for sure be a busy day, Tuesday always is. So until the next time,

Happy Riding

Focus and Erika